Good Morning Friends,
The story of the Israelites and the crossing of the Red Seas and the story of Jesus’ comment about his brothers and sisters are both stories of turning one’s back on the past, moving forward while trusting God will stand with us into an uncertain future. On the surface, it looks like Jesus is disrespecting his family in the passage from Matthew. But he is using this as a teachable moment. And in the passage from Exodus in the exodus the nature of the family unit was being redefined in its relationship with others and the traditions being incorporated into the journey. And sometimes it caused tension. In today’s Gospel text, Jesus’ biological family were trying to pull him away from his mission. There was contention between Jesus and the religious leaders. His family was concerned for his safety. But Jesus made it clear that doing God’s will was more important. Both stories are about overcoming adversaries when pressed into a difficult position. Moses literally parts the waters for a pathway to success. And Jesus multiplies the potential number of people who can be counted as our brothers and sisters in Christ…. tipping the scales in favor of the twice born. Here the basic unit of salvation is the family. And Jesus redefines the relationship and multiplies the possibilities even as the possibility of division looms.
So, Who Do You Call Family?
Scripture: Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
Exodus 14:21—15:1 (NRSV)
While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 12:46-50 (NRSV)
Message: I suppose like many Baby Boomers one of the most memorable films of my lifetime was the Cecile B DeMille epic The Ten Commandments. It was his second stab at commemorating the Exodus, and his only one both with sound and color. Of those who have seen the movie few will forget Charlton Heston standing on the cliff overlooking the Red Sea, holding out his staff and with the rush of wind, acting as the voice of God commanding the waters to part so the Hebrews could walk dry-shod toward the land of promise. It is an act of division and separation. And for those between a rock and a hard place, the devil and the deep blue sea, it is often seen as the only option. But what we also see is the love, care and protection of our great God for His children. A better way. God saves, protects and guides His followers through the trials of life even when confronted by overwhelming odds. And we are privileged in this situation to be God’s children. God loves everyone but as children and followers of Jesus, we receive special blessings and privileges. God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit. And having the Holy Spirit means God has given us wisdom and power. And we can see things more clearly now and we are able to understand things on a deeper level. And I realize that as a child of God I have a responsibility to act in accordance with being a child of the King. I need to grow and serve. I have work to do to try to change lives and build up the kingdom of God. And being a child of God means I can look forward to my heavenly inheritance. We have much to be thankful for as children of God. For now, the barrier between us and God has been parted and with that comes a new brother…. Jesus. We do not have to investigate our ancestry to see if we are related to Jesus because the Bible tells us he is. When Jesus resurrected, and Mary clung to him he said, “go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me”. The disciples were not necessarily Jesus’ biological brothers, but his spiritual brothers. And the same goes for us. Through faith we are adopted into the family of God. Therefore, we become Jesus’ spiritual brothers and sisters. And sometimes this reality causes divisions.
And So, in this day of potential conflict and disunion in our nation and its body of believers, we need to recover the sense that we are all are designed to be one family of God, that should dedicate ourselves to peaceful resolution of conflicts by multiplying the grace and love in the world as brothers and sisters in Christ. Everyone is a creation of God but to become a child of God we need to put our faith in Christ for salvation. Then we are spiritually adopted into the family of God. We can carry out the will of God. The Spirit gifts us in certain areas so we can accomplish his plans. As a child of God, we can be close to God and have a right relationship. We have true love, peace and joy. And we now have the capacity to love one another as we have been loved by God. We have a new mind that enables us to know and understand spiritual things. One that enables us to have wisdom and discernment. And we have a new heart; one that is selfless and forgiving. One that enables us to be free from bitterness, anger and jealousy even in a family setting as well as the church.
Pray we choose wisely. Pray that on our journey of faith that we declare our belief in God’s steadfast love, overwhelming grace and unconditional forgiveness. Pray for God’s presence, comfort, strength and hope in our times of trials and tragedies. Pray we answer God call for us to be a blessing to others because we have been blessed. Pray God lead us a step further into the future of a faith that brings unity and multiples the blessings to the whole world. Pray people find comfort in their spiritual family here. Pray our membership in the called-out assembly of God is a family for us. Pray we find on the journey the ability to trust and find understanding, security, mutual love, as well as the challenge of growing in and for the Kingdom of God. Pray our Christian discipleship is a home.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 